still digesting this 'food for thought'

I was directed to a thoughtful post at Bookworm Room.

Some bloggers have a gift; they cut through the white noise and static that fills our day-to-day existence and help us to tune in and refocus on the important messages of life. After my wanderings in blog-wasteland yesterday, I'm humbled and inspired to use my allotted bandwidth for greater good...both in cyberspace and in real life.

Is there someone you need to reach out to?

Don't wait...make it happen today.

Today may be all you have.

There are few things more wrenching than words of love and affection left unspoken.

Summer on the Palouse

These pictures were taken at our home near Moscow, Idaho, over the course of 2 hours this morning, June 10. (thanks, Annie!)
Yes, that's what I said....June.

That's SNOW, folks! Don't frosted peonies look lovely?

To tell the truth, I'm a bit frosted myself. But the nice thing about weather on the Palouse-- if you don't like it, just wait a few minutes and it will change.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go sweep the global warming off my front steps.

A little confused? Meeeeeeeee, too.

But just imagine how those peonies are feeling!

Call me crazy

Yep....I did it.

I rode Tremors at Silverwood Theme Park....

...and live to tell of it.

This famous wooden coaster actually descends below ground, giving the convincing impression that not only are you going to die on this thing, you'll be buried immediately! But no, you emerge into the bright light (no, not THAT light) to experience this pseudo near-death experience multiple times at 65 mph with people screaming all around you. Here, watch this for a little taste:


I did manage to peel my fingers off the hold bar in front and lift my hands above my head, but the impression that your hands will smack the top of the tunnel gaping wide to swallow you down was too great to overcome; I pulled my hands down for the tunnels!

Yes, it was a rush, and I'm glad I went. I had to keep my older Little company, right?

The pic in upper left corner is my favorite son...the one near center with long arms, throwing his head back with maniacal laughter while riding the other wooden roller coaster called "Timber Terror".

My eldest says I look scared in the pictures...no duh! (The camera doesn't lie.)
Well, not exactly scared, but certainly nervous about that first plunge.

Still, it could have been worse...it could have been a cliff!

Confirmation

Recently, while typing a comment on someone's blog, the spell checking program didn't like the word macchiatos. Even as I type this, it is helpfully suggesting I replace the word with psychiatrist.

wha....... psychiatrist? !

Which simply confirms my long-held belief...

(source)

...a good cup of coffee (or tea!) is therapy to body, mind & soul.

I've been 'branded' a GN

[sigh]

I fear my carefree life of blogging is done...kaput...over before I've barely begun.

My few readers are doubtless wondering what has brought this on.

I'll tell you...careless comments, that's what.

Who would have guessed?

I try to keep my 'grammar nazi-ish' tendencies in check, really I do. While I can't help noticing mangled and hemorrhaging English usage at every turn, I try to avert my eyes and pass on, pausing only to assist those I know and love or those who call out for help.

But occasionally I forget myself. In an unguarded moment, when challenged to spot a typo, I carelessly admitted to noticing such things. I blame it on a natural love of words and past training/employment. I try to keep it hidden, squelching the urge to leave red notations in my wake (except for my children's writing, that is).

But that's all it took. One thoughtless comment...and now look what's happened. I've been gleefully claimed as a personal "Grammar Nazi!"

Now everyone is going to be reading her blog, eyes on the sharp lookout for mistakes. And I shall be found wanting in my titled role, revealed as a rank amateur grammarian before the entire www community...Bill Gates and everybody!

Even worse, my own writing will be subjected to greater scrutiny. People will come here expecting to find all my i's dotted and my t's crossed. Boy! are they in for a surprise! They'll find posts riddled with errors that any self-respecting Grammar Nazi would never allow...tense changes, mixed metaphors, dangling participles, you name it.

Stuff happens.

Typing fast and not bothering to proof my musings is partly to blame. Worse yet, sometimes after polishing a portion I totally miss some glaring error - like verb/noun agreement. Hey, it worked perfectly in the original draft...I just forgot to check far enough back is all. An honest mistake...could happen to anyone, right? While I can give all sorts of reasoned excuses, I'm downright embarrassed by the number of typos and errors that somehow manage to slip into my posts and comments. The little buggers just leap in! Honest!

So I have two choices: become uptight and paranoid about my future postings for fear of revealing my own ineptitude through countless mistakes, or lightheartedly pooh-pooh my newly acquired 'honors'.

I choose the latter.

Pshaw, I say...in my very best 'Bertie Wooster' imitation.

What's more, I offer this meek disclaimer: I really only admitted to grammar nazi-ish tendencies. What unnamed persons read into innocent, unguarded comments really isn't MY responsibility, right? While it's true that I did offer to help out, the person claiming me has little need of my vastly over-rated skills. Her blog is a treat, with well-turned phrases and insightful observations. (An occasional error pops up, but I suspect she's afflicted with the same little leapers that plague me.) I go there for an enjoyable read, not to work! Besides, I rarely carry a red pen when I am going to be nine miles from anything.

There.

Am I off the hook now?

I didn't think so.

Drats...

[muttering]

...where did I put my red pen?

(source)

[Thanks for the honor, Suzanne....I'm delighted and highly amused!]

In Honor of Poetry Month

I didn't realize that April was poetry month...that's how uninformed I am. Thanks to Toni at 3AM Designs for giving me a clue!

I currently prefer to write prose vs. poetry. Poetry was something I did in my angst-y teenage years. But a few years ago I discovered an on-line website for the great refrigerator magnetic poetry packs. Surely you've all seen them, right?

I used the "Artist" kit and had loads of fun creating the following poem (obviously some of my teenage angst is still with me!). Because you can only use the words provided in the kit, it demands a bit of creative twisting in order to find a word that conveys your intent. Soon after I posted it to the poetry forum on the website, the company selected it as their 'poem of the week' and gave it front-page exposure. What a hoot...I guess that was my fabled 15 minutes of fame!
So, in honor of Poetry Month, I give you....

Reflections on Modern 'Art'

You fashion a latex rhythm,

then meanly break harmony

with
psychedelic
passion

and
empty
metaphor

...and imagine it a masterpiece.

(poem by Paula Bauer 9/04 using Magnetic Poetry Artist Kit; 'artwork' also by PB...photo of one of my paper filigree designs seriously messed up with photo editor!)

Grrrr...I have given up trying to format my poem the way it is supposed to look. Blogger refuses to insert tabs where I need them!

Have fun playing with mag-po - why not share a poetic creation in the comments section...

I dare you!

Tomorrow: May Quilling Club sneak peak!

C'mon back and see how much fun I had with my Father's Day design!

blogging sans camera

Camera-less...it's been gone for weeks. Sent off for repairs.

I borrow eldest's when I can, would hog it if I could, but she needed it back.
Even with my poorly developed photographic skills, (pun!) I find the state of camera-lessness highly restrictive. No before-and-after photos of our "extreme yard clean" episode on Saturday (I fear the snowball bush will never recover from the haircut we administered) nor of my crew in their tireless sod-hopping efforts, nor my giant husband extracting shrubs with the ease of Paul Bunyan.

My blog without photos = a 'blah-g.'

So, I dug out my old photo albums to find this shot of Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox from 1983.

Paul Bunyan is a world-famous mascot/icon from my hometown of Bemidji, Minnesota.

I snapped this when I introduced Paul to my boyfriend of 5 months (destined to become hubby 2.5 years later).

To lend some sense of ol' Paul's size, BJ ("Big J-name") is 6'8". Paul is one of the rare men that BJ looks up to.


Searching for appropriate photos on the 'net is time consuming, but I did discover a great free stock photo website called Stock.xchg Check it out!

I am still trying to determine if netiquette requires one to respond to comments on one's own blog or on the commenter's blog...or does it even matter?

It seems right unneighborly not to acknowledge comments -- like driving past someone on a country road and not lifting your hand in greeting! But it also seems inappropriate to inject your response into the comment section of someone's post that has nothing whatever to do with the content of your post or comment!!

I have a 'blogging without obligation' logo up...

...maybe I need a 'commenting without obligation' logo too.

Hand-me-downs and traditions

The tablecloth in the previous post was given to me by my mom when I moved to Idaho. If I am not mistaken, it was one of her wedding gifts from 1952. It is a small square linen luncheon cloth with several shades of blue stripes and a 3" blue border. The border is noticeably stiffer than the rest of the cloth...I am assuming it either is due to the dye, or the cloth was woven tighter and with more threads on the edges. Does anyone with vintage textile knowledge know if that was a common practice? At any rate, it's the perfect size for my round table. When I was a little girl, my mom would use it on the small table she would sometimes set for tea, warmed eggnog, or hot cocoa for my younger sister and me. I cherish the memories and mother's love interwoven into its fibers. And I am reminded again that I need to ask if she remembers who gifted it to her so I have that provenance info to pass along to my children.

The food is shown on a 1950s-era rose Fiestaware plate, one of 6 different ones gifted to our family by Bro#2 and his lovely wife. I need to shop for one more since we added another child. Actually, one suffered irreparable injuries at the hands of dishwashers-in-training, so I guess I need to shop for two more. And now that I am thinking about it, my daughter is getting married in July, so I guess I really need to shop for 3 more!

I have been trying to decide if I want to add antique/vintage Fiestaware plates for each new member of the family. Fiestaware sets such a festive, colorful, cheerful table and it has become a family ritual to use them for birthday dinners. So, if I am to continue the tradition, I must get more plates. Right now we supplement the Fiestaware with cheap pottery plates in similar colors. But they look clunky and ...well....cheap. So I guess the hunt is on. I don't know if I can find the extras in time for favorite son's birthday.

Are you shocked that I admit publicly that I have a favorite? !

As a mom of five...all boys except for four...it has been a source of family amusement to dub him 'my favorite son.' But when I acquire sons-in-laws, I will have to retire the expression. "We're not losing a daughter, we're gaining a son" sounds cliche' to say (and never fear, I shall NOT utter it at any of the wedding functions!) but I DO want to live that sentiment out. I called my husband's parents "Mom" and "Dad" just like I did my own. And I shall plan to 'own' all my kids-in-law in similar fashion.

I really wanted to find a photo of fiestaware, but I have grown weary of searching the 'net for one that I like. I might try my hand at snapping a shot of my few plates later on today...or I may just let your imaginations run free!

personal reflection...

This was the first Christmas without hubby's brother, Ron. There were two grapevine wreaths with florals & greens at his memorial service in July, and my SIL Carol gave them to me.

When Christmas came around, I needed a new lighted wreath as my old one got tossed during hubby's over-zealous shop cleaning. Out came the saved grapevine wreath. After adding several gold ribbons, lights, and gold ornaments, we hung it over the buffet. It seemed a fitting memorial to our missing brother. Ron would have appreciated the gesture...he so loved family gatherings and festive meals!

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

Been a bit since I posted...the holiday rush hit us hard this year. Placed several desperate SOS calls to hubby and eldest to pick up 4 more lbs of butter (we actually ran out in the middle of baking!) or another 10 lb bag of flour (also ran out). Have NEVER been so unprepared! We made it through, but it sure added to the frazzle of preparations.


Below are versions of the gift cards we attached to 15 plates of Christmas cookies shared around the neighborhood. We bake up a storm nearly every year, but this year we gave it all way (except for 3 platters for Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year's Eve). It is fun to share our holiday fav's with others...and I am amazed at how many people commented that they don't do Christmas baking any more! The kids and I can't imagine the holidays without festive cookies to nibble and share with others.




This card was a knock-off of one Susannah designed for the November Card Party at Paper Pals. We have LOVED these creative nights out together and have picked up lots of creative ideas and been forced to come up with fun designs to share. It certainly helps keep us out of a rut.

Our snowflake cards use a Reminisce paper brand design called "Snowglobe". It was a nice pattern, with the unexpected detail of brown distress marks that really appealed to us.

Snowflakes were embossed on a shimmery vellum, then ripped out and paired with a light blue parchment square to dangled loose under the ribbon.

We ran out of paper for the background, so we had to use leftover pieces to create variations. This one turned out okay.
But we soon ran out of bigger pieces, too, and had to resort to a third variation to get all our cards made.


I actually prefer this one best of all three. I like the big expanse of white because it makes the dangle tag 'pop' more. I suspect it uses the Rule of Thirds, which is why I find it the most interesting and appealing.


After all the bustle and preparations,
post holiday let-down hit harder than usual.

That old David Bowie song 'Changes' has been playing like a soundtrack in my head.


Giving up traditions is hard. Bending and accepting change is usually uncomfortable... sometimes painful.

But one must eventually 'turn and face the strain.' That particular phrase is so spot-on I have to clench down on my emotions to prevent a major 'WAH' session! Change almost always involves strain, doesn't it? Part of you yearning for the old way, and part of you looking forward to the new adventure, and both views playing tug o'war in your brain.

"Time may change me, but I can't trace time."

So much for post-holiday musing.

Where's some chocolate?